Sometimes you can't get away from Windows - say firmware updates for SSDs, motherboards, printers, NICs, GPUs, etc.
As far as installing Linux on a partition on a single drive -
don't do it, especially if it is a SSD. It would be better to use a HDD for Linux and a SSD for OSX. If you use UEFI then you will have your hands full as it is, you don't want to have Linux blow up OSX if you don't have to.
When it comes to Linux most try a few distros until they find one they like best and then stick with it as long as possible. I like MATE since it is a desktop GUI while others may like GNOME3 for tablets; some may like KDE 5 Plasma, while others may like Xfce, LXQt, LXDE, etc. Even within MATE you could go with an Ubuntu, Debian, Arch or Gentoo based distro.
Some programs will work on one and may not work on another, for instance Rhythm Box or Clementine, etc.; just like Adobe or Photoshop, within OSX or Windows, etc.
I bounce a lot between Linux distros, whether it be Fedora, SuSE/OpenSuSE, Mint, PCLinuxOS, NEON, RoboLinux, Tails, Ubuntu (GNOME and MATE) / Kubuntu / Lubuntu / KodiBuntu / Xubuntu, et. al., Puppy Dog, Bodhi, Manjaro, Mandriva, etc.; Stable and Rolling Releases. What I stick with is MINT and lately, PCLinuxOS (and PCLOS is slow compared to Mint, even though they both run the same MATE version).
So I have a 1TB HDD with Mint 17.3, a 320GB HDD with Mint 18.0, a 320GB HDD with PCLOS KDE5 Plasma, and, a 1 TB HDD with OSX El Capitan and a 1TB HDD with Windows 10. Originally I had a 1TB HDD for Linux Mint 17.3 and a 1 TB HDD for /HOME,... then Mint 18.0 came along and said that I would have to completely re-do the OS since it couldn't use the data structure of /HOME (specifically FireFox). So, instead of upgrading (good thing I didn't!!!) I installed 18.0 on it's own test HDD. My browser of choice is Opera. Unfortunately Fedora24 doesn't work well with it because of the Fire Wall. Some distros will have a set kernel (Stable), others will allow you to install the latest kernel (Rolling)...
KDE5 is even more convoluted than Windows 10 or Windows 8. Here's a test - install KDE5 and then see how long it takes you to figure out how to move the task bar to the top, or try and get Cairo Dock to load automatically on log in. In my case it was DAYS, no, it has been more like WEEKS.
Unless you are already very proficient with Knoppix, unless you have already set up Knoppix on your disk drive with your favourite windows themes, favourite fonts (for instance OSX's San Francisco in KDE5), favourite apps., unless you have
not tweaked the heck out of it, etc., then I wouldn't suggest that you
commit to installing any Linux distro on a second partition on your OSX drive.
Then consider the NCQ, TRIM and COW (Change on Write) problems within Linux (and to some extent within OSX) and the last thing you want is data corruption on your Samsung (for instance!) SSD where it blows up OSX. Some Linux distros will want to install the EFI boot loader to /Boot instead of /Boot/EFI (KaOS) and Ubuntu puts its boot loader wherever it wants to and labels it "Ubuntu" even under Mint.
And if it seems as if there is too much change within Linux, it's really no different than going from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Mavericks to Yosemite to El Capitan to Sierra. Each update causes its own set of problems, just as updating Linux could lead to regressions or peripherals no longer working (just like updating from Windows 98 to 2000 to XP to Vista to W8 to W8.1 to W10 caused its own set of problems.)
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/77803.html
One of my favourite sites:
http://www.dedoimedo.com/
http://www.everydaylinuxuser.com/2013/04/5-must-read-linux-blogs.html (You hair may rise when you read AppleHaters.
)
